Posts: 107
Name: Roy Dixon
Location: Iowa, same as Kirk
|
I think the site is fine, visually, but there are a few problems you may want to look at.
Lets start with the nav links...
"News"... why would you want the only news on the page to be about how you computer crashed, and what a pain in the butt it is, and how hard it will be to fix it, and .. oh yeah... Please subscribe!
If you are asking people to subscribe, then you should inspire CONFIDENCE. The average person doesn't need a big story about your computer problems. It would be different if there were a bunch of news stories on the page, and this is just the latest.. but make it a minor inconvenience, not a major catastrophe.
"Free Hosting"... a little more explanation is necessary about how to use the search. Remember that many, if not most, of the people that are looking for a free host are new to the game. Make it easier to use your service.
"Contact Us"... It's ok
"Partners"... Get rid of the text that says "We currently have no partners" It is a negative statement. It's like going to a car dealership and there is a big sign on the door that says " No one has ever bought a car from us." Also, lose the whole "End Partnership" section. Again, it's negative. You can include information on how to end a partnership on the sign up page.
"Link to us" is fine, but I don't like the way the text is written. (I'll explain in a second)
"About Us" The page is ok, but again, there are problems with the writing.
Now, I'll explain a few things about the writing that you may want to address.
Get rid of all the exclamation points. There are 11 exclamation points on the home page, and only 6 periods. If you end every sentence with a ! then the effect is lost. It's a sort of vanity, like laughing at your own joke, over and over again.
You have some text in parentheses that is way too small.
Lose the little "text-smiley" at the end of the paragraph. Again, laughing at your own joke.
The text is very long winded and confusing. Make it simpler and easy to understand. For example, you have written:
"Welcome to my website! My primary goal is to provide all the novice and expert webmasters a place where they can find a hosting service for their project. This is a site constantly under construction. But that does not mean you can not find interesting information here!..."
This could be re-written to read something like:
"We provide webmasters with a choice. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, this is the place to find answers to your webhosting needs. Our site is updated regularly, so check back often."
Don't you think that's easier to understand? It's also a much more positive statement.
Next, why would a link that says "on this page", take you to another page? Not only does it take you to another page, but it opens a new window to do it. Most users don't like links opening up new windows.
At the bottom of the page there is a redundant link to the "About" page. I'd keep the one in the nav bar, and lose the one at the bottom of the page.
The text on the news page... another "text-smiley"
The text on the "Free Hosting" page... not a single period. All the punctuation at the ends of sentences is done with exclamation points.
The rest is pretty much the same.
Take a look at the text on the "About Us" page. You may want to re-write the majority of it. Most of what you have written is about how awesome you are and how great the idea for the site was. I don't think you did this on purpose, it just came out that way. Slow down when you are writing. Think about the viewer. The site needs to be about the viewer and how your site can help them, not about you. Give a little biographical information and a bit of how the site came about, but keep the focus on how this site serves the viewer.
Check your spelling and grammar. ("Thank You" ... not "Thanks You")
I know this probably sounds like I am picking your site apart. If so, then I apologize. You have some nice stuff here. Just step back a little and ask yourself if what I've mentioned has any merit. The choices are yours.
Good Luck, sven.
|
I still have to add a lot of functionality and categories.
